System and method for automatic intention evaluation and communication routing

ABSTRACT

A communication system and method for routing communications can include a communication device that is configured to route a communication connection based on empirical data relating to an attempted communication. For instance, in some embodiments the device of a communication system can be configured to utilize stored and classified empirical data for automatically determining a subject of an attempted communication made by a user via the user&#39;s communication terminal and dependencies the user for that attempted communication may have on a callee for use in establishing a connection for the caller based on the determined dependencies and determined subject of the attempted communication. Information regarding the determined subject of the communication attempt can be based on the stored empirical data. The attempted communication can also be rerouted to another user based on the empirical communication data if that attempted communication is not established within a pre-selected time period.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/596,636, which was filed on Jan. 14, 2015. Theentirety of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/596,636 is incorporatedby reference herein.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to communication systems, a communicationdevice, and methods of using the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In many situations, an attempted communication can involve an attempt atreaching a person via a call center or other type of communicationsystem. Examples of communication systems can be understood from U.S.Pat. Nos. 8,767,933, 7,697,677, 6,819,755, 6,687,877, 6,363,145,6,327,364, 6,259,785, and 6,128,380 and International Publication Nos.WO 2014/094997 and WO 2014/042640.

Communication attempts can often involve a caller attempting to call acallee to establish a communication session (e.g. a phone call or videocall) or a message sender sending a message, such as a text message oran email, to at least one addressee. Some calls may not be accepted oranswered. Some text messages or emails may be ignored or otherwise lostdue to how busy the addressee may be and the volume of communicationsthat person may have to manage. Even when calls or messages areanswered, the callee or recipient may not be able to address the subjectof that call or message and have to forward the message or call toanother, more knowledgeable person. For instance, a caller to a servicehot line may have to have their call forwarded one or more times to havea particular technical issue adequately addressed by a person with theexpertise necessary to address the subject of the caller'scommunication.

Calls to hotlines or call centers can often involve long periods of timein which an attempted call is placed on hold or is in a waiting queueuntil a service representative is able to receive that call. Such longwait times can result in an attempted caller giving up on the attemptedcommunication due to the long wait time, which can negatively affect thecaller's view of service being provided to the caller.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for routing a communication request for a communication sessionis provided. Embodiments of the method can include the steps of:receiving a first request for a communication session from a firstcommunication terminal of a first user that is addressed to a secondcommunication terminal of a second user or an address associated withthe second user, evaluating past communication data for communicationsinvolving the first user and the second user to identify topics that arecommon to communications involving the first user and communicationsinvolving the second user to identify probable topics of the firstrequest, evaluating past communication data for communications involvingother users to determine topics that those users are able to address forthe first user, determining that a third user of the other users is bestfor addressing at least one identified topic of the first request basedon the evaluating of the past communication data for communicationsinvolving the other users and an evaluation of past communication datainvolving the first user, and upon a determination that the firstrequest was not accepted for establishing the communication sessionwithin a pre-selected time period, routing the first request to a thirdcommunication terminal of the third user or an address associated withthe third user.

In some embodiments, the method may be performed by a communicationrouting system or at least one device of the communication routingsystem. For example, in some embodiments, the method may be performed bya routing device or other type of computer device that is configured forcommunication routing determinations. In other embodiments, the methodmay be performed by different devices. For instance, in someembodiments, a computer device that is configured for communicationrouting determinations, a device for predicting future topics may eachperform different steps of the method.

In some embodiments, the method can also include the steps ofdetermining that a fourth user of the other users is second best foraddressing the identified most probable topic of the first request basedon the evaluating of the past communication data for communicationsinvolving the other users and an evaluation of past communication datainvolving the first user, and upon a determination that the firstrequest was not accepted for establishing the communication session withthe third user after the first request was routed to the thirdcommunication terminal of the third user or the address associated withthe third user within a pre-selected time period, routing the firstrequest to a fourth communication terminal of the fourth user or anaddress associated with the fourth user.

The method can also include collecting communication data forcommunications involving the users to identify topics of communicationsexchanged between different users and saving topic informationidentified from the collection communication data in non-transitorymemory. In some embodiments, a routing device or other element of acommunication routing system may collect the data and have that datasaved in memory of a data storage device or memory of a component of thecommunication routing system. In other embodiments, user communicationterminals may collect such data and subsequently have the data saved inmemory of a data storage device or an element of a communication routingsystem.

In some embodiments of the method, the evaluating past communicationdata for communications involving other users to determine topics thatthose users are most likely able to address for the first user cancomprise evaluating topics from past communications involving the firstuser and the second user to identify a probability that the identifiedtopics common to the first and second user will be the subject of thecommunication session sought to be established via the first request.Also, the determining that the third user of the other users is best foraddressing the identified most probable topic of the first request basedon the evaluating of the past communication data for communicationsinvolving the other users and an evaluation of past communication datainvolving the first user can include using the identified topics thatare common to the first and second user to identify the third user. Theusing of the identified topics that are common to the first and seconduser to identify the third user can include, for at least someembodiments, the steps of: evaluating topics from past communicationsinvolving the other users to identify at least one topic from those pastcommunications that are common to the determined topics of thecommunications involving the first user and comparing the communicationsof the other users having topics that are common to the determinedtopics of the communications involving the first user to determine auser that has a highest relevance to at least one of the determinedtopics of the communications involving the first user. In someembodiments, the highest relevance of a user is determined to be a userhaving a largest weight of probability that that user is experiencedwith at least one identified topic of the communication session that isintended to be established via the first request.

Embodiments of the method can also include filtering of data. Forexample, embodiments of the method can also include the step offiltering the evaluating of topics from past communications involvingthe other users to identify at least one topic from those pastcommunications that are common to the determined topics of thecommunications involving the first user based on presence information ofthe other users. As another example, some embodiments of the method caninclude the step of defining data of the past communications involvingthe other users based on presence data for those users so thatnon-available users are filtered out of the data prior to performing ofthe evaluating of topics from the past communications involving theother users so that a non-available user is not identifiable as thethird user.

The first request can be a communication request that seeks to establisha communication session. In some embodiments, the first request can bean attempted call initiated by the first communication terminal toestablish a phone call with the second communication terminal. In otherembodiments, the first request may be a communication request seeking toestablish a conference call with multiple users, a communication requestseeking to establish an instant messaging conversation, or acommunication request seeking to establish some other type ofcommunication session.

In some embodiments of the method, a routing device can receive thefirst request prior to attempting to establish a phone call connectionbetween the first communication terminal and the second communicationterminal. In some of these embodiments, the routing device may be aconference server computer device or a switch device.

A communication routing system is also provided. Embodiments of thecommunication routing system can include at least one device havinghardware that comprises at least one processor connected tonon-transitory memory and at least one transceiver unit. The memory canhave at least one application stored therein that defines a method thatis performed by the communication routing system when the application isexecuted by the processor. The method defined by the application caninclude the steps of: evaluating past communication data forcommunications involving a first user associated with a firstcommunication terminal and a second user associated with a secondcommunication terminal to identify topics that are common tocommunications involving the first user and communications involving thesecond user to identify at least one probable topic of the firstrequest, evaluating past communication data for communications involvingother users associated with other communication terminals to determinetopics that those users are most likely able to address for the firstuser, determining that a third user of the other users is best foraddressing at least one identified probable topic of the first requestbased on the evaluating of the past communication data forcommunications involving the other users and an evaluation of pastcommunication data involving the first user, and upon a determinationthat the first request was not accepted for establishing thecommunication session within a pre-selected time period, causing thefirst request to be routed to a third communication terminal of thethird user or an address associated with the third user.

In some embodiments, a communication system can be provided thatincludes the communication routing system and also includescommunication terminals and network elements that are communicativelyconnectable to at least one device of the communication routing system.For example, network nodes, communication terminals, at least onegateway, and other network elements can be included in some embodimentsof the communication system.

In some embodiments, the at least one device of the communicationrouting system can include a routing device communicatively connected toa computer device having the application stored in memory of thecomputer device. That computer device can be configured forcommunication routing determinations via the application stored in itsmemory. In other embodiments, the at least one device can also include athird device that is configured for predicting future topics that iscommunicatively connected to the computer device configured forcommunication routing determinations. An application may be stored inthe memory of the device that is configured for predicting future topicsthat defines a method by which that device predicts further topics of acommunication request and communicates those predicted topics to thecomputer device for use in determining which third user may be bestsuited for receiving a communication request in the event a second useraddressee or callee of that communication request fails to cause his orher communication terminal to answer that communication request forestablishing the requested communication session within a pre-selectedtime period.

In some embodiments of the communication routing system, the applicationstored in the memory can be configured to define the method to alsoinclude the steps of: determining that a fourth user of the other usersis second best for addressing the identified at least one probable topicof the first request based on the evaluating of the past communicationdata for communications involving the other users and an evaluation ofpast communication data involving the first user and, upon adetermination that the first request was not accepted for establishingthe communication session with the third user after the first requestwas routed to the third communication terminal of the third user or theaddress associated with the third user within a pre-selected timeperiod, causing the first request to be routed to a fourth communicationterminal of the fourth user or an address associated with the fourthuser.

In some embodiments of the communication routing system, the applicationstored in the memory can be configured to define the method to alsoinclude the steps of: collecting communication data for communicationsinvolving the users to identify topics of communications exchangedbetween different users and saving topic information identified from thecollection communication data in non-transitory memory of a data storagedevice, of the computer device having the application stored in itsmemory, or in non-transitory memory of another device that iscommunicatively connected to the device having the application stored inits memory.

In some embodiments, the communication routing system can be configuredsuch that the evaluating of past communication data for communicationsinvolving other users to determine topics that those users are mostlikely able to address for the first user comprises defined by theapplication includes the step of evaluating topics from pastcommunications involving the first user and the second user to identifya probability that the identified topics common to the first and seconduser will be the subject of the communication session sought to beestablished via the first request.

In some embodiments, the communication routing system can be configuredsuch that the determining that the third user of the other users is bestfor addressing the identified most probable topic of the first requestbased on the evaluating of the past communication data forcommunications involving the other users and an evaluation of pastcommunication data involving the first user can include using theidentified topics that are common to the first and second user toidentify the third user. The using of the identified topics that arecommon to the first and second user to identify the third user caninclude evaluating topics from past communications involving the otherusers to identify at least one topic from those past communications thatare common to the determined topics of the communications involving thefirst user and comparing the communications of the other users havingtopics that are common to the determined topics of the communicationsinvolving the first user to determine a user that has a highestrelevance to at least one of the determined topics of the communicationsinvolving the first user.

In some embodiments, the application stored in the memory of the deviceof the communication routing system can also define a filtering of datastep of the method. For instance, the method defined by the applicationcan include the step of filtering the evaluating of topics from pastcommunications involving the other users to identify at least one topicfrom those past communications that are common to the determined topicsof the communications involving the first user based on presenceinformation of the other users received from a presence detectingdevice. As another example, the method defined by the application caninclude the step of defining data of the past communications involvingthe other users based on presence data for those users so thatnon-available users are filtered out of the data prior to performing ofthe evaluating of topics from the past communications involving theother users so that a non-available user is not identifiable as thethird user.

A communication system is also provided that includes a communicationrouting system having a computer device configured to make communicationrouting determinations. The computer device can be configured toevaluate past communication data for communications involving a firstuser associated with a first communication terminal and a second userassociated with a second communication terminal to identify topics thatare common to communications involving the first user and communicationsinvolving the second user to identify at least one probable topic of afirst communication request. The computer device can also be configuredto evaluate past communication data for communications involving otherusers associated with other communication terminals to determine topicsthat those users are most likely able to address for the first user. Thecomputer device can also be configured to determine that a third user ofthe other users is best for addressing at least one identified probabletopic of the first request based on the evaluating of the pastcommunication data for communications involving the other users and anevaluation of past communication data involving the first user. Thecomputer device can additional be configured such that, upon adetermination that the first request was not accepted for establishingthe communication session within a pre-selected time period, the firstrequest is caused to be routed to a third communication terminal of thethird user or an address associated with the third user.

Other details, objects, and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of certain present preferredembodiments thereof and certain present preferred methods of practicingthe same proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary devices, systems, and methods for routing of communicationsbetween multiple communication devices are shown in the accompanyingdrawings and certain exemplary methods of practicing the same are alsoillustrated therein. It should be understood that like reference numbersused in the drawings may identify like components.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first exemplary embodiment of acommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a communicationterminal of the first exemplary embodiment of the communication system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a communicationrouting system that can be utilized in the first exemplary embodiment ofthe communication system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a data storagedevice of the first exemplary embodiment of the communication system.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for routing acommunication request that may be utilized by an embodiment of thecommunication system and/or a device of the communication system.

FIG. 6 is a table illustrating an exemplary data store element that maybe stored in the data storage device or an element of the communicationrouting system of the first exemplary embodiment of the communicationsystem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a communication system 1 can include multiplecommunication terminals that are each communicatively connectable toeach other via a communication routing system 3. For instance, thecommunication terminals can include a first communication terminal 5, asecond communication terminal 7, a third communication terminal 9, afourth communication terminal 11, and a fifth communication terminal 13.Each communication terminal can be associated with a particular user.For instance, a first user can be associated with the firstcommunication terminal 5, a second user can be associated with thesecond communication terminal 7, a third user can be associated with thethird communication terminal 9, a fourth user can be associated with thefourth communication terminal 11, and a fifth user 13 can be associatedwith the fifth communication terminal 13. Embodiments of the system canbe configured so that more than five communication terminals or lessthan five communication terminals are utilized and communicativelyconnectable to each other via a communication routing system 3 (e.g. anembodiment of the system may utilize only four terminals, ten terminals,one hundred terminals, or more than one hundred terminals, etc.).

A data storage device 4 can be communicatively connected to thecommunication routing system and be configured to store data about thecommunications engaged in by the users of the communication terminals.The data storage device 4 can also be communicatively connectable toeach of the communication terminals for collecting and storing suchdata.

The communication terminals may be configured as telephones, laptopcomputers, electronic tablets, cellular phones, smart phones, or othertypes of electronic communication terminal devices that include hardwaresuch as a processor, non-transitory memory, and at least onetransceiver. For instance, each communication terminal can includehardware that includes a processor unit 28 that is communicativelyconnected to a transceiver unit 22, non-transitory memory 24, and atleast one input device 26. The communication terminal can also includeor be connected to at least one input/output device 25 such as a touchscreen display or other type of input/output device as shown in brokenline in FIG. 2. The processor unit 28 may be any type of hardwareprocessor such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit, a coreprocessor, interconnected processors, or other type of hardwareprocessor device. The non-transitory memory can be a computer readablemedium such as, for example, flash memory, a hard drive, or other typeof non-transitory computer readable medium storage device. Thetransceiver unit 22 can include at least one receiver and at least onetransmitter. Each input device 26 can be a button, a keypad, a keyboard,a mouse, a microphone, or another type of input device. The processorunit 28 can also be connected to an output device such as a displaydevice.

The memory 24 can have at least one application 23 stored thereon aswell as other data such as communication history data 25 and at leastone data store 27 (e.g. a database). The application 23 stored in thememory 24 can be defined by code that is executed by the processor unit28 to cause the communication terminal to perform a method defined bythe code of the application. In some embodiments, the code of theapplication 23 can require the processor unit 28 to access data storedin the data store 27 and/or the communication history data 25 when theprocessor unit 28 is executing the application 23.

In some embodiments, communication history data may be stored in atleast one data store 17 a of an earlier communication data storagedevice 17 that is connectable to the communication terminal. The earliercommunication data storage device 17 could be the data storage device 4in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the earlier communicationdata storage device may be a separate data storage device configured tostore communication history data for that specific communicationterminal or a group of assigned communication terminals that may includethe communication terminal.

The communication routing system 3 can include a computer device 31 thatis configured for communication routing determinations. The computerdevice 31 can be a routing device (e.g. a switch device or acommunication server computer device) or may alternatively becommunicatively connected to a routing device 33. The computer device 31can include hardware, which can include a processor unit 31 a that iscommunicatively connected to non-transitory memory 31 b and at least onetransceiver unit 31 c. The memory can be configured to store at leastone application and at least one data store. In some embodiments, theapplication can be defined by code that is executed by a processor whenthe application is run by the processor to cause the device to perform amethod defined by the code. The data store of the memory can includecommunication history data obtained from past communications engaged inby the users of communication terminals. The processor unit 31 a may beany type of hardware processor such as a microprocessor, a centralprocessing unit, a core processor, interconnected processors, or othertype of hardware processor device. The non-transitory memory 31 b can bea computer readable medium such as, for example, flash memory, a harddrive, or other type of non-transitory computer readable medium storagedevice. The transceiver unit 31 c can include at least one receiver andat least one transmitter.

A routing device 33 that may be communicatively connected to thecomputer device 31 that is configured for communicating routingdeterminations (for embodiments in which this computer device 31 is nota routing device) can also include hardware, which may include, forexample, a processor unit 33 a that is communicatively connected tonon-transitory memory 33 b and at least one transceiver unit 33 c. Theprocessor unit 33 a may be any type of hardware processor such as amicroprocessor, a central processing unit, a core processor,interconnected processors, or other type of hardware processor device.The non-transitory memory 33 b can be a computer readable medium suchas, for example, flash memory, a hard drive, or other type ofnon-transitory computer readable medium storage device. The transceiverunit 33 c can include at least one receiver and at least onetransmitter. Embodiments of the routing device 33 can be, for example, aswitch device, a type of private branch exchange (PBX), a communicationserver computer device, a call server computer device, a text messagingserver computer device, an email server computer device, or other typeof communication routing device.

The computer device 31 can also be communicatively connected to a device37 for predicting future topics. The device for predicting future topics37 can be a computer device that includes hardware, which may include aprocessor unit 37 a that is communicatively connected to non-transitorymemory 37 b and at least one transceiver unit 37 c. At least oneapplication and at least one data store may be stored in the memory 37b. In some embodiments, the application can be defined by code that isexecuted by a processor when the application is run by the processor tocause the device 37 to perform a method defined by the code forpredicting, estimating, or otherwise determining one or more topics of acommunication request sent by one user for establishing a communicationsession with at least one other user based on an evaluation of pastcommunications data exchanged in by those users. The data store of thememory can include the communication history data obtained from pastcommunications engaged in by the users of communication terminals (e.g.empirical communications history data of the users to be involved in acommunication session sought to be established by a communicationrequest as well as communication history data from other users). Theprocessor unit 37 a may be any type of hardware processor such as amicroprocessor, a central processing unit, a core processor,interconnected processors, or other type of hardware processor device.The non-transitory memory 37 b can be a computer readable medium suchas, for example, flash memory, a hard drive, or other type ofnon-transitory computer readable medium storage device. The transceiverunit 37 c can include at least one receiver and at least onetransmitter. Embodiments of the device for predicting future topics 37can be, for example, a work station, server computer device, desktopcomputer, or other type of computer device that is configured to storedata about communications and be configured to identify one or moretopics that may arise as a subject of a communication based on one ormore topics of the communication request or the one or more topics ofprior communications exchanged between a user requesting a communicationand an addressee or callee of that communication request (e.g. anattempted phone call, text message, instant message, email, etc.).

The data storage device 4 can also be a computer device that includeshardware. The data storage device can include non-transitory memory 41that has at least one data store 42 stored therein. The memory 41 can becommunicatively connected to a processor unit 45. The processor unit 45can also be communicatively connected to a transceiver unit 43. Theprocessor unit 45 may be any type of hardware processor such as amicroprocessor, a central processing unit, a core processor,interconnected processors, or other type of hardware processor device.The non-transitory memory 41 can be a computer readable medium such as,for example, flash memory, a hard drive, or other type of non-transitorycomputer readable medium storage device. The transceiver unit 43 caninclude at least one receiver and at least one transmitter. The one ormore data stores 42 stored in the memory 41 can include a databaserelating to past communications exchanged between different users ofdifferent communication terminals and can also include a data storeconfigured to facilitate the identification of topics of a communicationrequest that are likely to be involved in a communication sessionestablished via a communication request. Embodiments of the data storagedevice can include, for example, a database server computer device, aworkstation, a computer, or other type of data storage device that hashardware for storing data and communicating with other devices so thatsuch stored data is accessible to those devices.

The communication system 1 can be configured to facilitate the routingof requests for communication sessions or communication connections,such as requests for phone calls or instant messaging sessions. Forexample, the communication routing system 3 of the communication system1 can be configured to facilitate the connection of a first userattempting to initiate a communication session by sending a firstcommunication request via first communication terminal 5 with therouting of that first communication request to a user of a communicationterminal that is most likely to be able to address the topic or topicsof the communication request. Such a routing of a communication requestcan be based on stored data that includes stored communications thefirst user may have engaged in in the past with other users via phone,email, text message, social network, instant messaging, Short MessageService (SMS) message, or other type of communication as well as thecommunications the other users may have engaged in in the past utilizingthose same types of communications. In this way, when a communicationrequest is directed to a system to be routed for answering by aparticular person, the communication routing system 3 of thecommunication system 1 can determine which user should receive thatcommunication request and then route the communication request to thatuser or communicate with a routing device to cause the communicationrequest to be sent to that user (e.g. a communication terminalassociated with that user or an address associated with the user such asthe user's phone number, email address, instant messaging address, textmessaging address, social messaging address, etc.).

As another option, or an alternative, when a communication request froma first user addressed to a second user or the second communicationterminal 7 associated with that second user (e.g. a phone call) is notanswered within a pre-selected time period, the communication routingsystem 3 can be configured to route the communication request to anotheruser that is most likely to be able to address the one or more topics ofthat communication request by determining who that user is most likelyto be based on past communications engaged in by the first user, seconduser, and other possible users who may be available to receive thecommunication request. After that determination is made, thecommunication request that was not answered by the second user withinthe pre-selected time period can be routed to a communication terminalassociated with the user determined to be most likely able to addressthe one or more topics predicted to be the subject of the communicationrequest (e.g. a telephone associated with that user such as, forexample, that user's mobile phone or user's office desktop phone) byrouting of that communication request via the communication routingsystem 3 and/or communicating with a routing device 33 to have thatcommunication request routed to the identified user via an addressassociated with that user (e.g. an email address, phone number, socialmessaging address, text message address, instant messaging address,etc.) or to the communication terminal associated with that user.

In some embodiments, at least one application stored in memory of adevice of the communication routing system 3 can configure that systemto determine which user should receive the communication request if thatrequest is not accepted or answered for establishment of the requestedcommunication session within a pre-selected time period such that aprocessor of a device of that system can perform the method defined bythe application. For instance, the application can be stored in memoryof a computer device 31 configured for communication routingdeterminations of the communication routing system that so that theprocessor of the computer device can execute the application to performthe method defined by the application for routing of communicationrequests.

In some embodiments, the communication terminals, communication routingsystem 3 and/or a data storage device 4 may be configured to collectdata on communications and/or store that data in at least one data store(e.g. at least one database). The data that is stored may includeinformation identifying the communication participants' roles in thecommunication (e.g. addressee, sender, callee, caller, conference callparticipant, instant messaging participant, etc.), the type ofcommunication (e.g. phone call, SMS message, instant message, email,social network message, etc.) the one or more topics of thecommunication, and a time of the communication. All topics,communication party roles, and a rating for each party can be stored inat least one data store for historical communications exchanged by usersof a communication system. The collected data may then be utilized todetermine how to route a communication request that is received at afuture time.

Embodiments of the system can be configured for collection of data tooccur in a number of different ways. For instance, the time of eachcommunication can be obtained from time information associated with eachcommunication session (e.g. text message, instant message, email, phonecall, conference call, calendar entry, etc.). The topics of thecommunication can be determined by the communication routing system 3(e.g. computer device 31 or device 37) or a communication terminal foreach user in a number of different ways for saving in a data store withother data about that communication for storage and subsequent use ofempirical communication data. For instance, topic information collectedfor a communication can be based on input provided by a user via acommunication terminal that user is using that identifies one or moretopics of a communication, can be extracted from the subject of themessage (e.g. subject of an email or calendar entry), can be extractedfrom text of a message (e.g. text of a text message, email message, orinstant message), via data manually entered by a communication partyusing a communication terminal while a communication session is ongoingor after it has ended, or via data manually entered by a communicationparty using a communication terminal before the communication sessionhas started (e.g. in a configuration step or prior to a communicationrequest being sent to establish the communication session).

The role each communication party (e.g. callee and caller, conferenceparticipant, addressee, sender, etc.) may have with a communication thathas its relevant data stored for subsequent use in communication routingcan be determined in a number of different ways as well. For instance,the role of each communication party can be determined from thedepartment that user is assigned to in an organizational data base savedin memory of a data storage device 4 or the communication routing system3. As another example, the historical communication profile of one ormore users and/or related communication (e.g. calling times and topics)can be utilized to determine the role of a communication participant forstoring data about the role of each communication participant in a datastore for subsequent use in routing communications. As yet anotherexample, the role of each party can be based on information that ismanually entered by one or more users via use of at least onecommunication terminal. For instance, roles in different communicationscan be entered via input provided by one or more users via theircommunication terminal(s) that identifies the role of at least onecommunication party of a communication session during the session,before the session is initiated, and/or after the communication sessionhas ended. Communication systems can be configured to utilize all suchdata collection options for identifying and saving data relating tocommunication partner roles for each communication that is stored in adata store for subsequent use in routing communications.

In some embodiments, the communication routing system 3 can beconfigured to automatically try to find an alternative party for receiptof a request to establish a communication sent by a first user (e.g. acallee or sender) that is directed to a first listed recipient who isunavailable or otherwise fails to respond to that request within apre-selected time period via user of that user's communication terminal.In some embodiments, the communication routing system can be configuredto identify an alternative addressee/callee/recipient of such acommunication request by first determining from topic overlaps of thefirst user and the first listed recipient (e.g. a second user) todetermine a probable intention of the first user's attempt forestablishing a communication session (e.g. determining a probableintention by identifying one or more topics of the communication sessionsought to be established via the communication request). Afterwards,searching can be conducted to identify alternative parties (e.g. third,fourth, fifth, and other users) who could result in a similar topicsoverlap with the first user and the communication request's intendedrecipient. An alternative user to receive the communication request sentby the first user (e.g. callee or sender) can then be determined fromthe similar topic overlaps of the different alternative users and adetermined probability that that alternative party could best addressthe one or more topics. For instance, the possible similar topics andlikelihood of each of the alternative parties being able to addressthose topics can be factored into selecting the best intention overlap.The communication request sent by the first user to the initiallyintended recipient can then be routed to that alternative party if thatcommunication request is not answered for establishing a communicationsession within a pre-selected time period.

The table of FIG. 6 identifies exemplary information that can becollected and stored from monitoring of communications engaged in byusers of a communication system. For instance, the information of thetable of FIG. 6 could be information that the communication routingsystem 3 may have collected and subsequently communicated to the datastorage device 4 for storage of that data in the memory of the datastorage device 4. Alternatively, the table of FIG. 6 identifiesinformation that can be stored in the memory of the communicationrouting system 3. As yet another option, the table of FIG. 6 canillustrate information that is stored in the data storage device 4 orthe communication routing system 3 that was obtained via communicationsthe data storage device 4 or communication routing system 3 had with thecommunication terminals of the different users and/or earliercommunication data storage devices 17 associated with one or more ofthose users to collect data from the communication terminals related tocommunications engaged in by users of those communication terminals andstore such data in at least one data store stored in its memory. Forexample, each communication terminal can be configured to store datarelating to user communications and periodically send that storedcommunication data to the data storage device 4 for storage and use ofthat data. As another example, each communication terminal can beconfigured to store such empirical communication data and periodicallysend that data to the computer device 31 or device 37 of thecommunication routing system 3. As yet another example, eachcommunication terminal can be configured to store such communicationdata in an earlier communication data storage device 17 and the datastorage device 4, computer device 31 that is configured forcommunication routing determinations, and/or device 37 for predictingfuture topics can be configured to obtain such data from the one or moreearlier communication data storage devices 17 via periodiccommunications exchanged with the earlier communication data storagedevice 17.

For example, the first user of the first communication terminal 5, thesecond user of the second communication terminal 7, a third user of thethird communication terminal 9, the fourth user of the fourthcommunication terminal 11, and the fifth user of the fifth communicationterminal 13 may each engage in use of their communication terminals forsending and receiving various communications such as telephone calls,email messages, text messages, instant messages, and social networkmessages (e.g. messages from one or more social networking applicationsand/or websites via a social networking server computer deviceconnection to their communication terminal such as, for example, one ormore direct messages sent and/or received utilizing a Twitterapplication offered by Twitter Inc.). Each communication terminal maystore data about each such communication and subsequently send that datato the storage device 4 for collection in a data store. As anotheroption, the communication routing system 3 can include one or morerouting devices 33 that collect such data and send it to the datastorage device 4 for storage in a data store or save such data in thememory of a device of the communication routing system 3 (e.g. computerdevice 31 and/or device 37). That stored data can be configured as atable or other database element that can include information such as theinformation shown in FIG. 6.

Thereafter, a first user may utilize the first communication terminal 5to attempt to place a phone call or send some other type ofcommunication request directed to the second user of the secondcommunication terminal 7 for establishing a communication session withthat second user via the first and second communication terminals 5 and7 (e.g. a phone call, etc.). If the second user does not answer thephone call or other type of communication request within a pre-selectedperiod of time (e.g. 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 5 seconds, or othertime period), the communication routing system 3 may route thecommunication request to another communication terminal of another userthat it determines to be most likely to be able to address at least onetopic that is determined to be involved in the communication sessionsought to be established via the communication request sent by the firstcommunication terminal 5 of the first user. The communication routingsystem 3 may make such a determination via at least one of a computerdevice 31 that is configured to make communication routingdeterminations and device 37 for predicting future topics based on thecollection of data about past communications the users of thecommunication system have engaged in prior to that communication requestbeing sent. After the computer device 31 and/or device 37 assesses suchinformation, the device 31 may be configured to directly route thecommunication request to the third communication terminal 9 of the thirduser or communicate to the routing device 33 of the communicationrouting system 3 that the third communication terminal 9 of the thirduser is the destination to which the communication request should berouted if the communication request is not responded to within thepre-selected time period at the second communication terminal 7. Thecommunication request can then be routed to the third communicationterminal 9 prior to the communication request being delivered to a voicemail system, never being answered before the communication request isterminated as unanswered, or being unexpectedly and belatedly answeredby the second communication terminal.

The quick routing of a communication request to an available user whenthe addressed user is unavailable for the communication session that wasinitially sought to be established can allow communications to beexchanged to improve the efficiency by which the first user may obtaininformation about one or more topics for performing a task. The quickrouting of the communication request to an available user can alsoimprove the service provided to the first user. In the event the firstuser is a customer, that user's view of customer service being providedto that user can be viewed more favorably as compared to having thatuser's communication request being placed on hold for some indefinitetime period or providing a voice mail and subsequently waiting for areturn call.

The determination of which user is most likely to be able to address atleast one of the estimated topics of the communication request can bemade by the computer device 31 that is configured for communicationrouting determinations or the device 37 for predicting future topics ina number of ways. For instance, the communication behavior of the senderof the communication request (e.g. the first user of the firstcommunication terminal 5, the caller, the sender of an instant message,etc.) can be assessed along with communication behavior of the party tobe contacted (e.g. the second user of the second communication terminal7, the called party, the addressee, etc.) at the time the communicationrequest is sent from the first communication terminal 5 to the secondcommunication terminal 7. The communication behavior can be utilized toidentify and estimate the topic or topics of the communication requestthat can subsequently be used to identify which user is most likely tobe best suited for addressing at least one of such topics in the eventthe second user does not answer the communication request at the secondcommunication terminal 7 within the pre-selected time period.

The computer device 31 for communication of routing determinations orthe device 37 for predicting future topics can be configured to weighdifferent topics of prior communications engaged in by the first user toidentify possible topics for the communication request. The weighing ofthe topics can be based on the other personnel involved in theapplicable communications as well as the identified topics of thecommunications and how recently those communications took place. Forinstance, based on the collection of data of FIG. 6, the topics to beweighted for the first user can be determined to be: Marketing as 85%,Product X as 65% and Product Y as 50% as the topics in thecommunications. For this example, Marketing may be weighed more heavilybecause it was listed within the topics of two of the fourcommunications. Product X may be weighed more heavily (e.g. higher) thanProduct Y as Product X was a topic of a communication more recently thanthe communication that lists Product Y as a topic.

The topics of communications in which the second user was involved mayalso be weighed to help predict, or estimate, the topic of thecommunication request sent by the first communication terminal 5. Basedon the exemplary data of FIG. 6, such weighing of topics can be based onthe topics of those past communications as well as the communicationparticipants and time past since those communications took place. Forinstance, the weighing of topics for the second user in connection withpredicting the topic of the communication request sent by the firstcommunication terminal 5 can be: Project Plan Z 90%, Product X 70%,Marketing 55%, and Product Y 45%.

The probabilities for identifying the topics of the communicationrequest sent by the first user of the first communication terminal 5 tothe second user of the second communication terminal 7 may then bedetermined by the computer device 31 that is configured to makecommunication routing determinations or the device 37 for predictingfuture topics. Those topics may be weighed by summing the determinedtopics for the topics that are common to the communications of the firstand second users (e.g. topics form communications involving the firstuser that match topics of communications involving the second user). Forthe example of FIG. 6, the determined topics that are common to thefirst and second users' communications may be determined as follows:Marketing=140% (85%+55%), Product X=135% (65%+70%), Product Y=95%(50%+45%).

Based on the determination of possible topics, the topic of marketingand at least one of Product X and Product Y may be determined to be themost likely topics of the communication request. Further, the topic ofProduct Y or Product X alone is less likely to be present than the topicof Marketing. In some embodiments, a computer device 37 that isconfigured to predict future topics may make such a determination andsubsequently send the identified predicted topics to the computer device31 configured for communication routing determinations for itssubsequent use in determining the user that may best address the one ormore topics of the communication request sent by the first user of thefirst communication terminal 5 in the event the second user does nottimely respond to that communication request via the secondcommunication terminal 7.

After identification of the predicted topics is made, a most suitablereplacement for the second user to address the one or more topics of thefirst user's communication request sent via the first communicationterminal 5 may be made by the computer device 31 that is configured forcommunication routing decisions. Such an identification can be based onan assessment of the other communications involving other communicationparticipants and other users within the data of the data storage device4 or communication routing system 3 (e.g. the memory of the routingdevice 33, computer device 31, or device 37) to identify the user thathas the most relevance to the first user for at least one topic that isestimated as being the subject of the communication request sent by thefirst user via the first communication terminal 5.

For instance, the communication behaviors of the other users, such asthe third user of the third communication terminal 9, fourth user of thefourth communication terminal 11, and fifth user of the fifthcommunication terminal 13 can be assessed to determine which of theseusers may be the most suitable substitute for the second user in theevent the second user is unable to timely respond to the communicationrequest. For example, the communication behaviors of each user may beweighed based on communication topics, communication partners, and timeto weigh the topics to which those users are most likely familiar with.For example, based on the information of the example of FIG. 6, theweighing of topics for the third user may be Marketing=85%, ProductX=80%, and Product Y=70%, the weighing of topics for the fourth user maybe: Product Y=90%, Product X=80%, and Project Plan Z=80%, and theweighing of topics for the fifth user may be: Product X=60%.

The probable intention for contacting the third, fourth and fifth usersby the first user of the first communication terminal 5 that sent thecommunication request may then be determined by summing theprobabilities for the one or more topics of the communication requestdirected to the second communication terminal 7 of the second user withthe shared topics of communications engaged in by the other possibleusers (e.g. topics for communications common to the first user and eachof the other users). For example, the probable intention calculation forthe third user may be determined to be 170% for Marketing (e.g. sum ofmarketing weights for the third and first user), 145% for Product X(e.g. sum of the Product X weights for the first and third users), and120% for Product Y (e.g. sum of weights for the first and third users).The probable intention calculation for the fourth user may be: 140% forProduct Y (e.g. a sum of 90% for Product Y of the fourth user and 65%for Product Y of the first user) and 145% for Product X (e.g. the sum ofthe weights for Product X between the first and fourth user). Theprobable intention calculation for the fifth user may be determined tobe 125% (e.g. a sum of 60% of Product X for the fifth user and 65%probability of Product X found for the first user). Based on thesecalculations, the computer device 31 configured for communicationrouting determinations can determine that the third user of the thirdcommunication terminal 9 is best for addressing at least one identifiedtopic of the communication session sought to be established via thefirst user's communication request and can determine that the fourthuser is the second best for addressing at least one identified topic ofthe communication session sought to be established via the first user'scommunication request as the third and fourth users have the highest andsecond highest probabilities for responding to at least one predictedtopic of the communication session that the first user seeks toestablish with the second user.

The computer device 31 configured for communication routingdeterminations can cause the communication request sent by the firstterminal to be routed to the third communication terminal 9 if thesecond communication terminal does not accept the communication requestto establish a communication session (e.g. phone call) within apreselected time period. Thereafter, the computer device 31 configuredfor communication routing determinations can cause the communicationrequest sent by the first terminal to be routed to the fourthcommunication terminal 11 of the fourth user in the event the thirdcommunication terminal 9 does not respond to the communication requestfor establishing a communication session with the first communicationterminal 5 within a pre-selected time period (e.g. 1 second, threeseconds, or five seconds, etc.) of that forwarded communication requestbeing delivered to the fifth communication terminal 13. In someembodiments, the routing of the communication request to the thirdand/or fourth communication terminals can be accomplished by thecomputer device 31 being a routing device that routes such calls. Inother embodiments, the routing of the communication request to the thirdand/or fourth communication terminals can be effected by the computerdevice 31 communicating with a separate routing device 33 to cause thecommunication request from the first communication terminal 5 to beforwarded or otherwise so routed.

In some embodiments, the weighing of probabilities and selection of amost likely user for responding to the first user's communicationrequest can also be based on a detected presence of the available usersso that the communication request is sent to a communication terminal ofa user that is known to be available for a call. A presence server orother type of presence detection device 14 that is communicativelyconnected to the communication terminals of the users to monitor thepresence of those users (e.g. out to lunch, on vacation, busy, on aphone call, in a meeting, on a business trip, etc.) may communicate withthe computer device for communication routing determinations to identifythe users currently available to respond to the first user'scommunication request. The availability of those users may then be thebasis of filtering of the results by the computer device 31 so that thecomputer device 31 selects the user determined to be most likely torespond to the one or more topics of the communication request that isavailable. That presence detection device 14 presence data can be usedsuch that total results deduced by the computer device 31 are filteredafter total calculations are made for selection of a user to which acommunication request is to be routed. Alternatively, the presence datacan be used by the computer device 31 to filter the past communicationdata to be evaluated to exclude users so that the computer device 31does not even attempt to calculate the likelihood that unavailable usersmay or may not be best positioned for responding to the communicationrequest to conserve processing resources of the computer device 31 foronly users that are currently available for responding to thecommunication request.

The factors that are considered for assigning a probability weight todifferent topics can include factors in addition to time, communicationtype, communication partners, and determined topics of pastcommunications. For example, user availability, the position of the userwithin a company and the responsibilities allocated to that position canalso be factors that are assessed when a weight for a particular topicis determined. As another example, calendar entries saved in a calendarof the communication terminal of the user or a communication server(e.g. an email server or calendar server) to which the first user maycommunication via the first communication terminal 5 identifyingupcoming meetings or other events can be used to identify topics of thecommunication request. Additionally, the particular factors to beweighed for predicting topics of a communication can be any of a numberof different factors and each of those factors may have a differentweight for determining an overall probability that a particular topic isto be a topic of a particular communication request. Further, thecomputer device 31 can be configured such that the weights that areapplied based on those different factors change over time based onempirical data of the routing of communications to improve the accuracyof the routing determinations made by the computer device 31 by changingthe weighing of different factors for assessing a topic of acommunication or weighing which particular topic may be most likely thesubject of a communication request. Further, the evaluation may be basedon communications that took place within a particular predefined timeperiod from the time a communication request to be rerouted is assessedto ensure stale data that may no longer have much accuracy value inpredicting topics of that communication request are not considered (e.g.only communications within 14 days, 30 days or 60 days of the receivedcommunication request are considered, etc.).

The identification of topics for different communication requests can beassessed by the device of the communication routing system 3 (e.g.computer device 31 or device for predicting future topics 37) or thatdata storage device 4 that collects the communication data. The topicscan be identified via text searching of the subject and/or body ofcommunication messages such as emails, text messages, or instantmessages. The topics of phone calls can be determined by a user usinghis or her communication terminal to send data to the device saving suchdata to identify the topic of that communication or by entering suchdata into his or her communication terminal that subsequently saves thatuser input data and sends it to the device storing the data (e.g. datastorage device 4, computer device 31 or device for predicting futuretopics 37). In yet other embodiments, it is contemplated that the voicedata may be recorded and the recorded voice data of the phone call canbe evaluated to determine the one or more topics of those calls.

The routing of communications so that a communication is routed from acalled or attempted to be contacted user to another user after apre-selected time period can be configured to occur so that suchrerouting of the communication request occurs prior to thatcommunication request being answered by the intended called party orintended addressee. In some instances, the communication request may beforwarded from the second communication terminal to anothercommunication terminal by a routing device to reroute the communicationrequest. In other instances, such as a text message or instant messagesession, the communication request may be delivered to the new userinstead of the initially addressed user. For example, the initialmessage may either be removed such that a second user that was theinitially intended recipient of a message addressed by the first userand sent by the first user via the first communication terminal 5 neversees the message via the messaging interface of the second communicationterminal 7 or may be saved for viewing by the second user but haveindicia or other information that is communicable to the second user viathe second communication terminal 7 to indicate that the message wassent to another user or addressed by another user.

Embodiments of the communication system can be configured in differentways to meet different sets of design criteria. For instance, in someembodiments, the communication routing system 3 can be configured toonly include a switch device or other routing device 33 that isconfigured such that it includes the functionality of the computerdevice 31 that is configured for communication routing determinationsand the device 37 for predicting future topics. In other embodiments,the routing device 33 can be communicatively connected to the computerdevice 31 that is configured for communication routing determinationsand the computer device 31 can be configured to also include thefunctionality of the device 37 for predicting future topics so that thisthird device is included within the computer device 31. Additionaldevices for storage of past communications data and searching such datafor topic relevant information can also be included in the communicationrouting system to provide additional memory and processing resources forthe system (e.g. earlier communication data storage devices 17 a andother devices can be included in the system, etc.). Additionally,embodiments of the communication system 1 can be configured so that thedifferent communication terminals are in different enterprise local areasubnetworks and that the communication routing system 3 is in a separateenterprise local area subnetwork that is connectable to these othersubnetworks. In yet another embodiment, the communication routing system3 can be configured to be in the same sub-network of an enterprisenetwork as all the communication terminals to which it may communicate.In yet another embodiment, the communication routing system 3 can be ina remote network that is communicatively connectable to thecommunication terminals via an inter-network connection (e.g. theinternet) and at least some of the communication terminals may belocated in different local area networks (e.g. different local areanetworks and/or wireless local area networks etc.). As yet anotherexample, the communication system 1 can also include other networknodes, such as, for example, authentication servers, access points,gateways, routers, border control devices, and/or other types of networkelements as well as email server computer devices, text messagingservice hosting computer devices, instant messaging hosting servercomputer devices, call control server computer devices, conference callserver computer devices, and calendar service hosting computer devicesthat are communicatively connectable to the communication routing system3.

While certain exemplary embodiments of the communication system andmethods of making and using the same have been shown and describedabove, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is notlimited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practicedwithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for routing a communication request fora communication session comprising: a communication routing systemdetermining that a third user of other users is best for addressing atleast one identified topic of a first request for a communicationsession that is addressed to a second communication terminal of a seconduser or includes an address associated with the second user based on:(i) an evaluation of past communication data for communicationsinvolving a first user and communications involving the second user thatidentified the at least one identified topic common to communicationsinvolving the first and second users to identify at least one probabletopic of the first request and (ii) an evaluation of communicationsinvolving the other users that identify which of the at least oneidentified topic that those users are able to address for the firstuser, the communication routing system comprising at least one devicehaving a processor communicatively connected to non-transitory memory;and upon a determination that the first request was not accepted forestablishing the communication session within a pre-selected timeperiod, routing, via the communication routing system, the first requestto a third communication terminal of the third user determined to be thebest for addressing at least one identified topic of the first requestor an address associated with the third user determined to be the bestfor addressing at least one identified topic of the first request. 2.The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining that a fourth userof the other users is second best for addressing the identified mostprobable topic of the first request based on evaluation of the pastcommunication data for communications involving the other users and anevaluation of past communication data involving the first user; and upona determination that the first request was not accepted for establishingthe communication session with the third user after the first requestwas routed to the third communication terminal of the third user or theaddress associated with the third user within a pre-selected timeperiod, routing the first request to a fourth communication terminal ofthe fourth user or an address associated with the fourth user.
 3. Themethod of 1, comprising: collecting communication data forcommunications involving the first, second, and third users to identifytopics of communications exchanged between different users; and savingtopic information identified from the collected communication data innon-transitory memory.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method alsocomprises: evaluating past communication data for communicationsinvolving other users to determine topics that those users are mostlikely able to address for the first user by an evaluation processcomprising: evaluating topics from past communications involving thefirst user and the second user to identify a probability that theidentified topics common to the first and second user will be thesubject of the communication session sought to be established via thefirst request.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining thatthe third user of the other users is best for addressing the identifiedmost probable topic of the first request based comprises: usingidentified topics that are common to communications between the firstand second user to identify the third user.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the using of the identified topics that are common to the firstand second user to identify the third user comprises: evaluating topicsfrom past communications involving the other users to identify at leastone topic from those past communications that are common to at least oneidentified topic of communications involving the first user; andcomparing the communications of the other users having at least onetopic that is common to the at least one identified topic ofcommunications involving the first user to determine a user that has ahighest relevance to the at least one identified topic of thecommunications involving the first user.
 7. The method of claim 6wherein the highest relevance of a user is determined to be a userhaving a largest weight of probability that that user is experiencedwith the at least one identified topic of the communication session thatis intended to be established via the first request.
 8. The method ofclaim 5, further comprising: filtering topics from past communicationsinvolving the other users to identify at least one topic from those pastcommunications that are common to the at least one identified topic ofthe communications involving the first user based on presenceinformation of the other users.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: defining data of the past communications involving the otherusers based on presence data for those users so that non-available usersare filtered out of the data prior to performing of an evaluation oftopics from the past communications involving the other users so that anon-available user is not identifiable as the third user.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first request is an attempted call initiated bythe first communication terminal to establish a phone call with thesecond communication terminal.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein arouting device receives the first request prior to attempting toestablish a phone call connection between the first communicationterminal and the second communication terminal.
 12. The method of claim1, wherein the communication routing system is communicativelyconnectable to the first and second communication terminals via anetwork.
 13. A communication routing system comprising: at least onedevice having hardware, the hardware comprising at least one processorconnected to non-transitory memory and at least one transceiver unit;the memory having at least one application stored therein that defines amethod that is performed by the communication routing system when theapplication is executed by the processor, the method comprising:determining that a third user of other users is best for addressing atleast one identified topic of a first request for a communicationsession that is addressed to a second communication terminal of a seconduser or includes an address associated with the second user based on:(i) an evaluation of past communication data for communicationsinvolving the first user and communications involving the second userthat identified the at least one identified topic common tocommunications involving the first and second users to identify at leastone probable topic of the first request and (ii) an evaluation ofcommunications involving the other users that identify which of the atleast one identified topic that those users are able to address for thefirst user; and upon a determination that the first request was notaccepted for establishing the communication session within apre-selected time period, routing the first request to a thirdcommunication terminal of the third user determined to be the best foraddressing at least one identified topic of the first request or anaddress associated with the third user determined to be the best foraddressing at least one identified topic of the first request.
 14. Thecommunication routing system of claim 13, wherein the at least onedevice comprises a routing device communicatively connected to acomputer device having the application stored in memory of the computerdevice.
 15. The communication routing system of claim 13, wherein themethod also comprises: determining that a fourth user of the other usersis second best for addressing the at least one identified topic of thefirst request based on the evaluation of the past communication data forcommunications involving the other users and an evaluation of pastcommunication data involving the first user; and upon a determinationthat the first request was not accepted for establishing thecommunication session with the third user after the first request wasrouted to the third communication terminal of the third user or theaddress associated with the third user within a pre-selected timeperiod, causing the first request to be routed to a fourth communicationterminal of the fourth user or an address associated with the fourthuser.
 16. The communication routing system of claim 13, wherein themethod also comprises: collecting communication data for communicationsinvolving the users to identify topics of communications exchangedbetween different users; and saving topic information identified fromthe collected communication data in the non-transitory memory.
 17. Acommunication system comprising: a communication routing system having acomputer device comprising at least one processor connected tonon-transitory memory, the computer device configured to makecommunication routing determinations, the computer device beingconfigured to evaluate past communication data for communicationsinvolving a first user associated with a first communication terminaland a second user associated with a second communication terminal toidentify topics that are common to communications involving the firstuser and communications involving the second user to identify at leastone probable topic of a first communication request; the computer deviceconfigured to evaluate past communication data for communicationsinvolving other users associated with other communication terminals todetermine topics that are addressable by those other users for the firstuser; the computer device configured to determine that a third user ofthe other users is best for addressing at least one identified probabletopic of the first request based on an evaluation of the pastcommunication data for communications involving the other users and anevaluation of past communication data involving the first user; and thecomputer device configured such that, upon a determination that thefirst request was not accepted for establishing the communicationsession within a pre-selected time period, the first request is causedto be routed to a third communication terminal of the third user or anaddress associated with the third user.
 18. The communication system ofclaim 17 wherein the third user was determined to be best for addressingat least one identified probable topic.
 19. The communication system ofclaim 17, comprising: a routing device communicatively connected to thecomputer device.
 20. The communication system of claim 19, comprising:the second communication terminal and the third communication terminal,the second and third communication terminals being communicativelyconnectable to the routing device.